Cruel Winter Blues (2006 Film)

Cruel Winter Blues (Korean: 열혈남아; RR: Yeolhyeolnama) is a 2006 South Korean gangster film directed and written by Lee Jeong-beom. The film follows a man seeking vengeance for the death of his friend, leading him to a small town where he encounters the mother of the person responsible for the killing.

Cruel Winter Blues poster — Promotional poster for Cruel Winter Blues.

Plot

Shim Jae-moon (Sul Kyung-gu) is a gangster who flees the scene after witnessing the murder of his friend by members of a rival gang. Years later, driven by a desire for revenge and personal atonement, Jae-moon travels to the small town of Bolgyo. He is accompanied by a new gang recruit, Moon Chi-guk (Jo Han-sun), a former taekwondo athlete who is familiar with the area.

The pair begins monitoring a local restaurant owned by the mother (Na Moon-hee) of Min Dae-sik (Yoon Je-moon), the man who killed Jae-moon's friend. As they wait for Dae-sik to return to town, Jae-moon and Chi-guk frequent the restaurant and develop a cordial relationship with the owner, complicating Jae-moon's original mission.

Cast

Sul Kyung-gu as Shim Jae-moon
Jo Han-sun as Moon Chi-guk
Na Moon-hee as Dae-sik's mother
Yoon Je-moon as Min Dae-sik
Oh Yong as Park Sang-geun
Ryu Seung-ryong as Lee Min-jae
Shim Yi-young as Jo Mi-ryung
Kim Jun-bae as Won-ki
Kwon Seong-deok as Senior

Scene from the film — A scene from the film.

Production

The film was produced by Sidus Pictures with a budget of approximately US$4 million and distributed by CJ Entertainment. It was released in South Korea on November 9, 2006, with a total runtime of 118 minutes.